13 Things Guaranteed to Annoy you at Restaurants, and What to Do

Going out to a restaurant should be an experience of pleasure. After all, you’re most certainly overpaying for what normally costs a fraction of what they’re charging you. So you’re paying for the experience, the location, the restaurant waiter, possibly a restroom attendant and yes, the promise of great taste.

The last thing you expect is to have to deal with weird stuff even if there’s no intention to annoy you. Unfortunately, this’ll happen more often than not, so here’s the list for you to be ready to bounce back or at least not be caught off guard.

1. Really expensive valet parking

This one you can probably guess if the restaurant is really expensive, if you are in a major city like San Francisco, or if the restaurant is in a hotel. Although sometimes the place is neither, but is trendy and the parking is expensive just because. A good solution is to look up the place on Yelp and if it doesn’t say how much the valet is, call and ask. I usually try to avoid valet parking by getting there early, giving me time to find street parking or a nearby garage, which I’ve found to be the best option.

2. Sitting where your butt cr*ck shows!

Hopefully this never happens to you, but I’ve seen it in action. Usually when people (men and women alike) are wearing pants. So a good solution is to avoid the type of clothes that put you at risk, take a booth seat, or a seat against the wall. I must say snatching the booth seat is tricky if there’s an elder, a pregnant woman, or people with kids in your dinner party. Otherwise, may the first one to get to the table grab the best seat! Haha. 🙂

3. If going with a group, sitting next to someone annoying, someone coughing his/her lungs out, or someone that you have nothing in common with

The trick is to initiate conversation with whomever you want to sit closer to before you head to the table, and also to get to the restaurant early. If you get there once everyone’s at the table, tough luck!via GIPHY

4. There’s no place to put your purse

Okay, this one is for the ladies or really stylish men. So my solution is, if it’s a small clutch, put it on your lap. If it’s a big purse and this happens often to you, consider getting a purse holder clip, which you can find on Amazon by searching for “purse holder”.

5. The restaurant waiter can’t explain the menu

This one is particularly problematic for picky eaters and people with food allergies, especially when they don’t tell you that the dish has certain ingredients, and the people in the kitchen get creative and put them as garnish. The solution: if you have food allergies tell the restaurant waiter what they are. If you are picky like me (haha), look at the menu on Yelp or OpenTable before you head to the place.

6. The restaurant waiter does not bring you water

This one is basic but happens every now and then. My solution: ask politely, which usually works better than getting nasty outright. If you ask more than once and they fail to do it, leave. If they fail at something so basic, don’t waste your hard-earned money at that place.

7. You get a cheapo white napkin and you’re dressed in dark colors

I know, this is weird stuff to complain about, but I’ve been to a few restaurants that skimp on quality napkins and you get a lint nightmare. This is quite problematic if you’re dressed in black. If this drives you nuts, carry a folded piece of lint roller sticky tape in your wallet (guys) or a mini lint roller in your purse (ladies). I usually have a lint roller in my car, and even in my office, in case I encounter a lint nightmare…

9. You are surrounded by no-double-dipping rule offenders

In case you’re not familiar with the no-double-dipping rule, here it is. Double-dipping is a terrible thing to do. It’s when you put a food item (like a chip) into a food dip, take a bite, and put that same chip back into the dip, leaving your saliva residue in the entire dip. I’ve found people have different views on this one.

Usually, the double-dippers prefer double-dipping, and think the non-dippers (like me) are obnoxious people. Some double-dippers would engage in this hideous practice to annoy the non-double-dippers. I personally hate double-dipping, except with my husband, for obvious reasons. The solution: state that you are a non-double-dipper; people usually follow along. If they don’t, and it bothers you, never order dips with those people. Haha.

10. You’re sharing tapas with people that eat faster than you

I get hit with this one often because I’m a slow eater and get carried away in the conversation and forget to eat. Also because my husband Miguel devours everything fast like it’s a contest. 🙂 If this happens to you too, go ahead and get a serving of whatever tapas you want and leave them on your plate while you talk at leisure or eat at your own pace.

11. Other people pick stuff from your plate

I’m not talking about your husband or kids here. I don’t know if some people do it to annoy other people or because they’re lured by what appears to be the promise of something delicious like cheese fries. At any rate, the consensus is that this is weird stuff. Don’t do it to others unless you have that kind of relationship.

If you fall victim, you have several choices depending on how confrontational you feel at the moment: 1) you can tell the person not to do it, 2) you can start doing the same thing to the person or, 3) you can avoid sitting near this person again.

12. There’s a restroom attendant, which usually means probably weird stuff can happen

In case you are not familiar with this, a restroom attendant is a noble human being that has to sit or stand inside a restroom and give you towels, mints, perfume and the like. In some countries they even give you toilet paper (a few squares, hehe) before you make your grand entrance into the stall. These people deserve a prize; they endure so much!

The problem is when you see one and you have no cash on you to tip them. I’ve heard people say (you know who you are) if that happens to them they just don’t wash their hands so they don’t feel obligated to tip! Haha. The logic being that the restroom attendant’s only “service” is to provide you with stuff after your business is finished.

I disagree. These people actually make sure the restrooms are in great shape so you should always try to tip them. Try to always carry a few singles in your wallet, or if you have no cash ask your friends for some and come back to tip the restroom attendant.

13. You have leftovers, ask for a doggie bag, and they bring you the box for you to pack it yourself

I don’t know if this is sometimes done for health reasons or because they want nothing more to do with you since you’re not ordering more stuff. You don’t really have a choice with this one, but to pack it yourself. The good thing is that at least you save yourself cash with what could be next day’s lunch.

BONUS: Hopefully you are not doing this one, guaranteed to annoy most people

People are constantly browsing stuff on their phones at the table! Sometimes we can’t help but be glued to our phones, especially in this day and age when we are overloaded with information and everything is instant or urgent. If you tend to be on your phone while at dinner, avoid it unless absolutely necessary to attend an urgent matter, and apologize about it.

If someone does it to you, text the person “Hi”, if you want to have some humor, or snatch it from the person like Kourtney below. Haha. If it continues to happen, reconsider spending your valuable time and money with this person – it might be worth exploring a different and cheaper scenario. 😛

The Lowdown

So, there you have it. Whether it’s no-double-dipping rule offenders, a clueless restaurant waiter, or weird encounters with bathroom attendants, now you know what are some common things that may annoy you at restaurants, and how to deal with them!

That’s my take!

Do any of the above annoy you too? Do you have any suggestions for solving any of them? Are you in favor of the no-double-dipping rule?

Hahahahaha.. omG this article made me laugh so much because I totally relate to at least 3 of these situations, especially numbers 10 and 12. I am a very slow eater and when I went to Spain a few years ago with my husband, this was my every day nightmare. Of course, Spain is known for its tapas restaurants, and I would go to a tapas place starving and most of the times I would leave either starving because my husband devoured 90% of the tapas and left me with only 10%, or we would leave the place almost broke because I would keep ordering tapas in order to get full. Great tips! Thanks Lily!

Hi Jelitza! OMG, the fast eaters!! I have also fallen victim to these people. More recently I went out with my husband and one of his friends visiting from out of town, guess where? To a freaking tapas place, which happens to be among my top 5 favorite restaurants in Miami. Needless to say it was a challenge. When we ordered my favorite dish, I did not even blink and ordered two right off the bat, just so that I could eat at ease without being the food police. Haha. And the restroom attendants, that’s another story. I once went on a trip where toilet paper was scarce and the only way to get a square was tipping beforehand, I now reminisce about it and laugh so hard! Thanks for stopping by Jelitza! 🙂

We live in a small town that oddly has some huge companies located in it so while restaurant choice is limited there are always two or three very expensive places catering to the corporate exec’s. One of these always has specials and never tells the price. It is a standing joke here that they determine the price of the special based on the degree of high cost custom suit tailoring or designer originals being worn at the table!

Hi Steveark! This is hilarious. LOL. I’ll be more suspicious of places that don’t tell the price! 🙂 I’m always wary of lobster at “market price”. What the heck?? Haha. How in the world am I supposed to know the market price for the day, unless I’m some type of lobster broker?? LOL 🙂

I really spent some good time reading this one…I definitely don’t like # 2 & # 9. I think # 2 is so rude…not only at a restaurant…anywhere!!! Please be conscious nobody else wants to see your b***. For # 9, just take the portion of dip you want in your plate and let the others to eat their saliva…haha. I prefer do # 13, I think it is for health issues. Thanks Lily…every week getting better!

Hello Judith! I’m glad you liked it! Unfortunately I’ve seen #2 way too many times, in different places. I’ve always imagined what would happen if someone dropped a coin down there! LOL 🙂 I agree with #9, I see you’re on my side of the no double dipping rule. As to #13, I hear you. I’m kinda torn with this one, but you’re right. Also, I remember a time when a friend and I ordered the exact same thing and both had leftovers, the waitress wanted to take the plates to the kitchen and we asked: so how will you know which is which? She said, oh I’ll just never change hands…I was dumbfounded! LOL

@Lily – Haha at the GIFs – especially for #5…haha! All good points. I can easily cross off a few of the points as not being an issue for me, for example, I do not belong to the group of “stylish” men, and would be hard-pressed to find many people who eat faster than I do. lol

HAHA! Thanks Mrs. Defined Sight! You’re right, I should’ve done the plug for the air freshener! I’d say it’s also handy to save some dignity with the restroom attendant in case things get tough!! LOL. I’m happy it made you laugh! 🙂

Thanks GYM! Even though I’m a slow eater, recently if I’m at a tapas place that I really love I have transformed myself and managed to outpace many…haha. I guess I had to adapt to the fast eaters around me and my brain just went into survival mode. I’m sure I’ve looked like a pig more than once!!! LOL 🙂

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Meet the Rich Miser

Hey there! I'm Miguel, a lawyer and entrepreneur from Miami. When I'm not practicing law, I look for ways to live it up for the least amount of money possible. I also love nights out on the town, skiing, and being a news junkie. READ MORE